Here's a fresh take on an article that dives back into stories from our platform, first published in March 2021:
Lunar customs of Indigenous Australians: An exploration of their ancient lunar practices
In the Nuenonne traditions on Bruny Island, Tasmania, the Sun is a bloke named Punywin, and the Moon his missus, Venna. They journeyed together across the horizon in the beginning, giving life to our earth before retreating into the sea each night. But Punywin sped ahead, leaving Venna behind, chilling on icebergs despite Punywin's efforts to bring her up to speed by shining bright. Tasmania broke free from the mainland and emerged as the island we know today, symbolizing the Moon as reflected sunlight dating back to the end of the Ice Age, over 10,000 years ago.
The Moon and its phases are central to countless Dreamtime stories across Australia, capturing the intricate relationship between the Moon, Sun, and Earth. The Nuenonne legends depict the Moon woman as a fascinating astronomical observation woven into lore. For other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, the Moon is a powerful man, frequently linked to fertility. This association ties the Moon's cyclic phases to the women's menstrual cycle. In some tribes, gazing at a full Moon was said to enhance fertility. In others, people warned against it, fearing it might trigger infertility or even death.
Astronomical knowledge associated with the Moon encompasses law, lore, and a practical understanding that links the land and sky. It aids in predicting weather and seasons, tracking time, guiding ceremony, and navigation.
Tides and Gravity
The Yolngu people from East Arnhem Land believe that the Moon's connection to Earth impacts the tides. They learn that as the Moon moves across the horizon, it fills up and empties, affecting the tidal flow. As the Moon reaches full or new phases and rises or sets, high tides occur. Conversely, low tides take place when the Moon is near the zenith, or high in the sky, where its gravitational pull weakens.
The Moon doesn't have much surface gravity - only around six% of Earth's gravity. However, its gravitational pull does impact our oceans. When combined with the gravitational force of the Sun, the Earth's center of mass is drawn by a tidal force, creating the Earth's slight oval shape. When the Sun, Moon, and Earth align, we get spring tides. When they are perpendicular, we see neap tides.
Bill Bero, a Meriam man from the eastern Torres Strait, teaches that a good time to fish is during a quarter Moon. Neap tides occur when the tidal amplitudes (the difference between high and low tide) are at their lowest. Fish tend to be easier to spot and catch at this time, as the sand and silt on the seafloor aren't stirred up by the tides to the same degree. On Mer island, lower tides at the quarter Moon keep fish further out at sea for several hours before the high tide draws them close to shore for feeding. This is now known as the Werir Meg, or "hungry tide." It's best to fish on the west side during the first quarter Moon and the east side during the last quarter.
Lunar and Solar Eclipses
On May 26 of this year, the Moon will experience a total eclipse, turning a deep, blood-red hue. This occurs when the Moon enters the Earth's shadow, creating a near-perfect alignment called syzygy. Sunlight is refracted through the Earth's atmosphere, scattering the bluer wavelengths of light, leaving the redder wavelengths to illuminate the Moon.
Transient phenomena like lunar and solar eclipses have various meanings in Traditional Knowledge Systems. A lunar eclipse is often regarded as a warning. In the western Torres Strait, a lunar eclipse is called Merlpal Mari Pathanu, meaning "the ghost has taken the spirit of the Moon." David Bosun, a Mua artist, explains that a lunar eclipse foreshadows the arrival of an enemy army. During an eclipse, the people gather to perform a special ceremony, naming islands throughout the region until the eclipse concludes, helping them anticipate where their enemies will come from. In the eastern Torres Strait, a lunar eclipse is called meb dimdi, meaning "covered moon."
Solar eclipses are well-known events, although they only occur from a given location every few hundred years. Indigenous cultures across Australia, such as the Yolngu, believe an eclipse happens when the Sun woman and the Moon man are in the embrace of love.
In 1922, astronomers studying a solar eclipse on South Australia's coast shared their observations with the local Wirangu, who explained that eclipses were caused by the hand of a spirit man named Maamu-Waddi, who covers the Earth for privacy during the Sun woman and Moon man's intimate moments.
The Gedge Togia Moon Dance
In the eastern Torres Strait, the Meriam people pass down a sacred traditional Kab Kar song about the Moon, known as Gedge Togia. The lyrics are in two languages: Meriam Mir and Kala Lagau Ya, a Pama-Nyungan language spoken on Mabuyag Island in the west. The song's lyrics are Gedge Togia Milpanuka. Gedge Togia means "rising over home" (Mer or Murray Island), and Milpanuka refers to the Moon. The lyrics represent the Meriam people observing the Moon rising in the east as they sailed home from Mabuyag, some 200 kilometers due west of Mer.
Meriam elder Alo Tapim tells how this song highlights the longstanding connections between the two islands, symbolizing the Meriam people watching the Moon rise in the east as they journeyed home from Mabuyag. The song and accompanying dance played a key role in a legal battle the Meriam people fought and won to defend their sea rights. Uncle Alo was the youngest witness, at the age of 65 at the time.
Halo Effect
Forecasting the weather is essential for survival, so Indigenous Australian communities have developed specialized toolkits for predicting weather patterns. One key indicator of an approaching rainstorm is the appearance of a halo around the Moon. In Gamilaraay traditions, a lunar halo is a sign of rain or bad weather. But the timing varies depending on halo characteristics: if few stars are visible, rain is imminent. If several stars can be seen, rain might not come for several days, or it may not come at all. In the Torres Strait, elders say a halo (susri) forms when the Moon man is building a hut to keep himself dry before the rain arrives.
Moon haloes are transient optical phenomena that occur when wispy cirrostratus clouds are present. Light passes through ice crystals suspended in these clouds, acting like prisms. The appropriate temperature range and upper troposphere location (10 kilometers high) provide perfect conditions for these ice crystals to form. Similarly, if temperatures are sufficiently low, hexagonal ice crystals can form closer to the Earth's surface in low fronts. If humidity is high, water will condense and fall as rain. However, if conditions are dry, this is unlikely to happen.
Gamilaraay people observing a cloudy halo in which few stars are visible know the air is humid, signaling impending rain. Other characteristics observed include the Moon's position relative to the halo (central or off-central) and whether two haloes or other optical phenomena are present, offering different insights into atmospheric conditions. In the Tiwi islands north of Darwin, the Kulama ceremony is held near the end of the monsoon season, marking times for initiation, yam harvesting, and other significant events. A golden halo around Japara, the Moon man, signals this ceremony. During this occasion, a sacred yam is prepared in a precise manner over three days, or else it becomes poisonous. This corresponds to the tire of Japara dying and then coming back to life.
Cusps and Conditions
A crescent is the way people typically depict the Moon. A crescent Moon occurs when the angle between the Moon and Sun is less than 90° from our perspective. The "points" of the crescent Moon are called cusps. The angle of the cusps varies throughout the year, and Torres Strait Islanders have observed cusp orientations and their relationship to seasonal rainfall for a long time.
Meriam elder Segar Passi teaches that when the cusps are straight up (Meb metalug em), it's the Sager (dry season), and fine weather is on the way. The sky features cumulus clouds and waves have white caps. During this time, despite the choppy seas, good weather is expected. However, when the cusps are inclined at an angle (Meb uag em), thin cirrus clouds are visible, and a fuzzy area forms around the Moon. The water looks calm, but wet weather, the Kuki, is imminent.
The Moon and its cycles guide traditional activities on Country, embodying a wealth of scientific knowledge within. Learn more at Astronomical Insights: Decoding Indigenous Australian Astronomy.
Originally published by Cosmos as Tides, Tales, and Traditional Knowledge: Exploring the Indigenous Australian Connection with the Moon
In the realm of Indigenous Australian astronomy, the Moon's phases and its various positions are not just astronomical observations but deeply woven into stories and lore. For instance, the Yolngu people from East Arnhem Land attribute the Moon's influence on tides to the Moon's movement across the horizon filling and emptying, causing tidal flows.
Moreover, the Moon's connection to weather forecasting is evident in Gamilaraay traditions, where a lunar halo is considered a sign of approaching rain. This understanding of the Moon's influence on weather patterns demonstrates a practical understanding of Earth's climate systems, closely related to the science of meteorology.
